I just finished working my way through Twin Peaks for the second time, watching it weekly so that it spread over several months and allowed me to immerse myself in it at the proper pacing. The Missing Pieces was the final viewing in this run, after watching the feature film and the international pilot and I did wonder how good this could actually be. After all, whenever I watch deleted scenes, I invariably conclude that the scenes in question were removed for a very good reason. So surely the same rules will apply to these scenes cut from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me?
Well, the answer to that question has to be no. This is a super rare example of a set of deleted scenes which for the most part, could easily have remained in the original film. I think this may be in part testament to the skills of David Lynch as a director, that so much of these scenes are incredibly interesting and so well executed that, in many cases, they would have improved the movie if left in. In fairness, the original film clocked in at well over two hours, so its entirely understandable that scenes had to go. And this was well before the days of two or even three volume movie instalments, and don't forget that by 1992 Twin Peaks mania was well and truly over, with the second season dropping the ball spectacularly after the conclusion of the Laura Palmer murder-mystery. So, its quite inevitable that all these scenes just could not realistically have made up the original film. That said, some material really should have made the cut, such as virtually all the scenes involving Theresa Banks, while the sequence involving David Bowie's Agent Phillip Jeffries is now just really strange, as opposed to utterly baffling! Much of the material also incorporates much loved characters from the TV show, and while it was definitely nice to see them, you sort of understand why they were trimmed out, given they were not fully relevant to the Laura Palmer story, which Fire Walk with Me ultimately is.
There's no real point highlighting specifics of the scenes found here but suffice to say, some are negligible, most add fantastic context and texture, while some feel crucial and I wish they had made the final cut. Needless to say, this is essential viewing for Twin Peaks fans.
Well, the answer to that question has to be no. This is a super rare example of a set of deleted scenes which for the most part, could easily have remained in the original film. I think this may be in part testament to the skills of David Lynch as a director, that so much of these scenes are incredibly interesting and so well executed that, in many cases, they would have improved the movie if left in. In fairness, the original film clocked in at well over two hours, so its entirely understandable that scenes had to go. And this was well before the days of two or even three volume movie instalments, and don't forget that by 1992 Twin Peaks mania was well and truly over, with the second season dropping the ball spectacularly after the conclusion of the Laura Palmer murder-mystery. So, its quite inevitable that all these scenes just could not realistically have made up the original film. That said, some material really should have made the cut, such as virtually all the scenes involving Theresa Banks, while the sequence involving David Bowie's Agent Phillip Jeffries is now just really strange, as opposed to utterly baffling! Much of the material also incorporates much loved characters from the TV show, and while it was definitely nice to see them, you sort of understand why they were trimmed out, given they were not fully relevant to the Laura Palmer story, which Fire Walk with Me ultimately is.
There's no real point highlighting specifics of the scenes found here but suffice to say, some are negligible, most add fantastic context and texture, while some feel crucial and I wish they had made the final cut. Needless to say, this is essential viewing for Twin Peaks fans.